NCAA Tournament 2014: Predicting The Elite 8 Upsets
By Josh Hill
The Elite Eight is upon us which means that we’re all just a step away from the Final Four and seeing who will be competing for a spot in the national championship. March Madness is so much fun every year thanks to the upset picks that are chosen, but just because there are only eight teams out of 64 left, doesn’t mean upsets aren’t going to happen.
The playing field seems level since everyone has won the same amount of games to get here, and only two No. 1 seeds remain, but we must keep a watchful eye out for upsets. Every single higher seeded team is in danger of being upset as the road to the Final Four is filled with plenty of potholes.
With the No. 1 overall seed still standing, brackets aren’t completely busted yet and many people are baking on Florida to continue their march through the Madness. But they’re running into a white hot Dayton team that has already pulled off three major upsets to get to where they are. While it’s not a lock, the Flyers mustn’t be slept on, even against the Gators.
Then you have the Michigan State Spartans, who are another favorite to win it all but are clashing with a stout UConn team hot off os back-to-back wins over the No. 2 and then No. 3 seeds in their region. The Spartans knocked off a great Virginia team, but the Huskies are tough to beat and they’re getting hot at the right moment.
Ditto to the Kentucky Wildcats, who not only beat Wichita State in a thrilling game but knocked off favored Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen. They may be a bit tuckered out though from the physicality of their game against Louisville, which may come back to bite them.
Finally, let’s not sleep on the Wisconsin Badgers. If March Madness has ever taught us anything it’s that the teams you sleep on bust your brackets. That’s not to say Arizona isn’t the vastly superior team, but all it takes is one bad game to end your season and the Wildcats of Arizona are hoping they don’t run into that pitfall this weekend.
In the end, only UConn and Wisconsin will end up playing upset victor, but all four of the games played this weekend are wild cards in the truest ways possible.
Upset Predictions: UConn over Michigan, Wisconsin over Arizona